MLB commish Rob Manfred: World will survive without Yankees’ pinstripes

For the first time since baseball’s Golden Age — which dates as far back as the 1920’s and 30’s — the New York Yankees will don a new regular season uniform this weekend.

As part of Major League Baseball’s inaugural “Players Weekend” (Aug. 25-27), the franchise’s iconic home white outfit — with its distinctive navy blue pinstripes and interlocking “NY” at the chest — will be swapped out with a new top, which has navy, gray, the script “Yankees” font across the chest, and players’ nicknames above the numbers on the back. It’s a radical change to the Yankees’ design and appearance, as names have never been stiched on to any of their uniforms.

To many fans, New York’s weekend look has been considered downright unappealing. Some have suggested that nicknames should’ve simply been added to the traditional jersey, as that’s also unaccustomed.

The arguments aren’t loud or pressing by any stretch, but MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has heard them, and his message to those bitter fans is to, in essence, just suck it up.

“The Yankees are always going to have pinstriped uniforms,” Manfred told the New York Post at Comerica Park on Tuesday. “Two days [without them], modern civilization is probably going to survive without those two days, or three days, whatever it’s going to be.”